Space Technology: Flexi-Firm Tether

At the end of his tether during a
space walk, the astronaut suddenly seems to be in trouble. His command
pilot orders him back aboard the spacecraft, but he does not respond.
Something has happened to him, and obviously he must be recovered. But
how?

The problem could arise during any extravehicular activity, and the
answer seems simple: haul in the tether. But in frictionless space, the
free-floating astronaut is orbiting the spaceship as it circles the
earth, and any attempt to pull him in would make him rotate around it
so...